Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-07-16
Aud Thus Was the Great Preacher Saved
to Declare the Gospel.
TIE Text Used as an Illustration Tia,
Nothing is Trivial or insignificant.
e Jv,css for Christ Unrecognized in this
e. orld Will be Remembered in the
Next.
PAUL IN A

MANY nuuuIouS VI Dicohiyh ~
nacle people and their friends have
made a pilgrimage to this place. 1t is
one point ia an excursion of six days
taking in Newport, Nantucket and this
island. The Rev. r. Dewitt Talmage.
ID. d., preached here this morning in
the great camp meeting tabernacle.
Thousands OF people were present from
ail parts of New England. The music
was conducted by a band.
DIR. Talmage's text was:
.'Through a window in a basket was ! let
down BY the wall" Cor. xi, 33.
He said:
Sermons on Paul in jail, Paul on
Mars Hill, Paul in the shipwreck, Paul
before the ssphedrim, Paul before Felix
are plentiful, but in my text we have
Paul in q basket.
Damascus is a city Of white and
glistening architecture, sometimes
called ''the eye of the East" some
times called "a pearl surrounded by
s~Meralds," at one time distinguished
for swords of the best material called
Damascus blades, and upholstery of
richest frabric called damasks. A
horseman by the name Of Saul, riding
to yard this city, had been thrown from
t s saddle. The horse had dropped
lutlcr "a flash from the sky. which at
the same time was so bright it blindea
the rider for many days, and, | think,
so permanently injured his eyesight
that this defect Of vision became the
thorn in the flesh lie afterward speaks
butcher Christians, but after that hard
fall from his horse he was "A changed
man and preached Christ in Damascus
till the city was shaken TO its founda.
ton.
PAUL UNDER ARREST.
The mayor gives authority for lis
arrest, and the popular cry is: xii
him! XIII him!' The cityis surrounded
by u high wall, and the gates are
watched 10y the police lest the Ciclliar
preacher escape. Many of the houses
are built on the wall, and their balloon.
les projected clear over and lowered
above the gardens outside. 1t was Gus
tomary to lower baskets out of these
balconies and pull up fruits ant
flowers from the gardens. To thi:
day visitors at the monastery of Noun
Sinai are lifted and let down in baskets
Detectives provided around from house
TO house looking for Paul, but his
friends hid him, now in n place, now
in another. He is no coward, as fifty
incidents in his life demonstrate. Blu,
he feels his work is not done yet, and
so he evades assina.ion. us tina;
preacher herep' the foaming mot
shout ut one house door. ais tina,
fanatic herep" the police shout at an
other house door. Sometimes on the
street incognito he passes through a
crowd Of clenched fists and sometimes
he secretes himself on the house-top.
AT last the infuriate populace get on
sure track of him. They have positive
evidence that he is in the house of one
of the Christians, the balcony of whose
home reaches over the wall. Here
he is! Here he is!' The vociferation
and blasphemy and bowling of the
pursuers are at the front door. They
break in. Fetch out that GospeliZer,
and let us hang his head on the city
gate. Where is hep" The emergency
was terrible. Providentially there was
a good stout basket in the house.
Paul's friends fasten n rope TO the bas-
ket. Paul steps into it. The basket is
aifted to the edge of the balcony on the
wall, and then while Paul holds on 10
the rope with both hands ms friends
lower away, carefully and cautiously,
slowly but surely. further down and
further down, until the basket strikes
the earth and the apostle steps out and
afoot, AND alone starts out on that
famous missionary tour, the story of
which hiss ~astonised earth aud heaven.
Appropriate entry in Paul's diary OF
travels: Through a window in a bas-
ket was l let down by the wall"
GREAT FROM SMALL THINGS.
Observe, first. on what a slender ten
ure great results hang. The ropemaker
who twisted that cord fastener TO the
lowering basket never knew how much
would depend upon the strength OF it.
How if it had been broken and tho
apostles life mad been dashed outP
What would have become Of the Chris
tian church, All that magnificent MS
sionary work in Pamphilia, Cappad'
cia, Galatia, Macedonia, would Y